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Purpose: Postoperative fever (POF)/urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most unpleasant and undesirable conditions for surgeons after retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS). RIRS is not recommended for any patient with a positive urine culture to avoid POF and UTI, but some patients may develop postoperative UTI even if the urine culture is sterile. This study investigated the predictive factors of fever and UTIs after RIRS. Methods: In total, 1240 patients who underwent RIRS for proximal ureteral stones and/or kidney stones were analyzed. After case-control matching, 168 patients were included in the study. Demographic data, preoperative/peroperative/postoperative data, and hematological parameters were compared. Patients with sterile urine cultures were included in the study. Postoperative fever was defined as fever ≥ 38 °C within 72 h after RIRS. Patients were divided into two groups: those with and without POF/UTI. Demographic data, preoperative and postoperative findings, and inflammatory parameters of the patients were compared retrospectively. Results: POF/UTI was observed in 61 (36.3%) of 168 patients who underwent RIRS. After case-control matching, increased body mass index (BMI) and longer operation time were found to be significant predictors of POF/UTI (p = 0.001 and 0.016 respectively). Preoperative systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) (PxN/L), high Platelet/Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR), and urine leukocyte positivity were found to be significant predictors of POF/UTI (p = 0.037, 0.025 and 0.038 respectively). Conclusion: Hematological parameters are simple and feasible to use to evaluate POF/UTI in patients undergoing RIRS. High SII and PLR may predict POF and early infection after RIRS. In addition, according to demographic data and per-operative status, high BMI and prolonged operation time are risk factors for infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses a significant threat to ectothermic, dispersal-limited reptiles such as Zamenis snakes in the western Palearctic. This study used ensemble ecological models to assess the potential distribution of six Zamenis species under climate change scenarios (SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5). In addition, we examined niche dynamics through overlap, equivalency, and similarity analyses. Results reveal distinct ecological niches for each species, primarily influenced by temperature and precipitation. Projected distribution shifts vary across species, with some species like Z. persicus and Z. situla showing potential for range expansion, while others such as Z. lineatus and Z. scalaris face significant habitat loss. Z. hohenackeri and Z. longissimus exhibit complex patterns of both expansion and contraction. Niche analyses indicate varying degrees of overlap among species, with a trend toward niche conservatism. This study underscores the importance of niche ecology in understanding climate change impacts and highlights the need for species-specific conservation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate the potential for integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with the field of International Relations. GIS, as a crucial tool for spatial analysis, is widely employed in various scientific disciplines, ranging from health to archaeology. Nevertheless, its application in International Relations studies remains underutilized. To address this gap, a case study will be conducted to unite GIS and International Relations, focusing on the Fergana Valley, a region of significance in Central Asian studies. The debate surrounding whether the Fergana Valley presents a security challenge in Central Asia will be explored. This will involve testing for clustering and heterogeneity in conflicts within the region using the autocorrelation method in spatial analysis. Consequently, this study aims to address a key issue in the field and establish a precedent for the utilization of GIS in International Relations studies. Finally, the study will consider which research questions within the realm of International Relations could be addressed through GIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective: To evaluate and compare the quality and comprehensibility of answers produced by five distinct artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots—GPT-4, Claude, Mistral, Google PaLM, and Grok—in response to the most frequently searched questions about kidney stones (KS). Materials and Methods: Google Trends facilitated the identification of pertinent terms related to KS. Each AI chatbot was provided with a unique sequence of 25 commonly searched phrases as input. The responses were assessed using DISCERN, the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printable Materials (PEMAT-P), the Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), and the Flesch–Kincaid Reading Ease (FKRE) criteria. Results: The three most frequently searched terms were "stone in kidney," "kidney stone pain," and "kidney pain." Nepal, India, and Trinidad and Tobago were the countries that performed the most searches in KS. None of the AI chatbots attained the requisite level of comprehensibility. Grok demonstrated the highest FKRE (55.6 ± 7.1) and lowest FKGL (10.0 ± 1.1) ratings (p = 0.001), whereas Claude outperformed the other chatbots in its DISCERN scores (47.6 ± 1.2) (p = 0.001). PEMAT-P understandability was the lowest in GPT-4 (53.2 ± 2.0), and actionability was the highest in Claude (61.8 ± 3.5) (p = 0.001). Conclusion: GPT-4 had the most complex language structure of the five chatbots, making it the most difficult to read and comprehend, whereas Grok was the simplest. Claude had the best KS text quality. Chatbot technology can improve healthcare material and make it easier to grasp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to examine the quality of life and perceived stress level of the students of the School of Physical Education and Sports. A total of 192 participants, 82 males and 110 females, participated in the study. As data collection tools, "Personal Information Form", "Perceived Stress Scale" developed by Cohen et al. (1983) and adapted into Turkish by Eskin et al. (2013) and "University Quality of Life Scale" developed by Doğanay and Sarı (2004) were applied to the students. The data obtained from the participants were analyzed through IBM SPSS 25.0 program. Frequency analysis was used to determine the percentage distribution of demographic information. Anova test and T test were applied for independent groups. In the findings obtained; the relationship between perceived stress level and quality of life sub-dimensions was found statistically significant. It was seen that there was a significant difference in the scores of the participants' perceived stress levels scale according to the gender variable, the variable of doing sports and the class variable, while there was no significant difference in the scores of the university quality of life scale according to the gender variable, the variable of doing sports and the class variable. According to the perceived stress levels scale and quality of life scale scores of the participants, no significant difference was found in terms of department variable and economic income status. As a result, the relationship between the perceived stress level of physical education and sports school students and the sub-dimensions of identity, social opportunities and participation in decisions among the quality of life sub-dimensions was found to be statistically significant. Perceived stress levels were found to be higher in the variables of gender, sporting status and class. On the other hand, there was no significant relationship between the quality of life and perceived stress levels of the athletes with the department they studied and their economic income status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate alterations in middle-ear mechanics after type 1 cartilage tympanoplasty by comparing the ambient pressure absorbance values of the perforated tympanic membrane, normal tympanic membrane and cartilage-grafted tympanic membrane. Methods: Twenty patients diagnosed with non-suppurative chronic otitis media and 20 healthy controls were included. Pure tone audiometry and wideband tympanometry were performed once in the healthy controls and pre-operatively, one month and three months post-operatively in the patients. Results: Using wideband tympanometry, the patients' three-month post-operative ambient pressure absorbance values were found to be similar to those of the healthy controls at low frequencies, while lower ambient pressure absorbance values were recorded at middle and high frequencies. Air–bone gap and ambient pressure absorbance values showed significant negative correlations at 1000 and 4000 Hz both pre- and post-operatively. Conclusion: Generally, the patients' ambient pressure absorbance values were significantly lower at middle and high frequencies than those of the healthy controls. Post-operative wideband tympanometry is a practical tool for investigating the effects of a repaired tympanic membrane on middle-ear dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) serves as a pivotal technology for energy conversion, harnessing high‐temperature organic liquids sourced from heat reservoirs to propel turbines and generate electricity. This process not only facilitates the conversion of heat into mechanical energy but also significantly mitigates environmental impacts. ORC stands out as the preferred technology for enhancing energy efficiency and leveraging low‐temperature resources optimally. With the advent of artificial intelligence, particularly fuzzy logic, these systems have witnessed integration, providing a robust solution to address uncertainties. Unlike traditional logic, which offers binary outcomes, fuzzy logic offers a more adaptable approach by accommodating uncertainty, thus enabling modeling of complex real‐world situations. In this study, utilizing the fuzzy logic method, we estimated the energy and exergy efficiency of the ORC, resulting in an impressive 90% estimation accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]